Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other related characters. Dart Tension is mine though!
Author's Note: 4 is my lucky number. So maybe it applies for this chapter too. While typing the other chapters I had to keep reminding myself that it was before the chuunin exams and Sakura still had long hair. My mind kept thinking she didn't though. For some reason when I see a long haired Sakura, she's a naïve preteen "in love" with Sasuke. When I see a short haired Sakura, she's a responsible young woman that loves Naruto. So it weirded me out that Sakura had feelings for Naruto in my previous chapters while she still had long hair. Felt like sharing that. Hopefully this chapter is as long as my last one, maybe longer. I want to reach 10,000 words before or after the preliminaries. Hopefully before.
This might be hard for some people because it's pretty obvious what's going to happen next, but the chuunin exams is something that has to be done for the story to progress and can't imagine them occurring in any different scenario. In the future I will be copying less and less.
Also about action scenes. Even though they are the same situations from the comic and anime I can't guarantee the scene will be exactly the same because that's too much detail for me to remember. I can promise that the significant parts of the battle, even attacks will still be there. (Example: Sasuke doing a pile driver on Orochimaru)
The first and second exams are really actiony and stuff, so it will be hard to make it fluffy and stuff. (Especially the forest of death) But I will try! Man, long Author's note!
Naruto- I love you Sakura.
Sakura- Oh! I love you too Naruto.
Dart- Can you guys get a room?
Sakura- We would if you got to that part of the story!
Naruto- She is right. You have been slacking off lately.
Dart- Hey! I've been distracted by my birthday and some cool videogames I got.
Naruto- Whatever.
Dart- ……..And some nice, hot, juicy fics.
Sakura- Eww! You perv! …….(Were they about me and Naruto?) (blushes)
Dart-…..Maybe. You know, this is behind the scene. So you could do whatever you want, there's nothing stopping you.
Naruto- Really?
Dart- Yeah, so you can make out and stuff……As long as I watch….
Sakura- Pervert!!!!! (punches Dart through a wall)
Dart- I'm sorry!!!! I have been tainted!!!!!!
Screen Fades
Chapter 4: Inevitability
Kakashi had given team seven one week to prepare for the chuunin exams. Everyone had agreed. From then on though, everyone still met for lunch to discuss about the exams. However there was always one person gone.
Dart.
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke would meet at the training grounds or at a local restaurant. However Dart was never around. The first thing he said after Kakashi had spread the news of the upcoming exams, Dart had said, "I need to prepare." Ever since then, everyone barely got a glimpse of him. Naruto would only catch him leaving the apartment in the mornings and would never see him again until the next morning.
"Naruto have you seen Dart yet?" Sakura asked while sitting on a bench. It was the day before the exam. They had decided to meet briefly at the park this time. "No I haven't Sakura-chan. I think he just trains all day. I'm a little surprised. I'm training too, but I think he's over doing it." Naruto replied while standing in the grass.
"At this rate, he'll exhaust himself before the exams even start." Sasuke added from the middle of the walkway. Everyone remained silent. "Well I think it's time for me to get going." Sasuke said before leaving. "I expect you guys to be there tomorrow."
Sakura gulped. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to take the exams. She had heard of the risk involved. Naruto saw the look of uncertainty on her face. "Don't worry Sakura-chan! Whatever it may be, I respect your decision." Naruto said before walking off.
'He's so sweet.' Sakura thought while blushing. She walked back home while her thoughts were stuck on the chuunin exams…and also on Naruto of course.
"Kakashi, what are your recommendations?"
Kakashi was in a room full of Jounin and Chuunin while standing before the Hokage and representatives from the council. Standing next to him was Kurenai and Asuma. "I, Hatake Kakashi, recommend all of my squad members. Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and…" "The dimensional traveler?"
Kakashi's eyebrow rose. One of the council representatives spoke out loud. "Yes, Tension Dart. I recommend him too." "He has just been promoted to genin just a week ago, correct?" one of the other reps asked. "Yes, but I assure you he is capable of handling this along with the rest of the squad." Kakashi stated. "Is it wise to allow a stranger, not even from this world, to be allowed the chance to rise in our ranks? We don't know his intentions!" another council representative stated.
"I assure you, the boy is harmless. As strong as he may be, his intentions are pure. He desires to be a part of the village, he has no where else to go and he has already made friends." Kakashi defended. "That's…!"
"Councilman Surigi! That is enough! There are more pressing matters at hand. Like the upcoming chuunin exam." The Hokage intervened. "Kakashi, we accept your recommendations. Also if it pleases the council, you do have the boy under a watchful eye, correct?" "Yes along with Uzumaki Naruto. Since I have been required to look after him also," Kakashi shot a glare at councilman Surigi, "They are quite close, so it makes it much easier."
"Hold on here. Kakashi, are you sure these students are ready? It has not even been a year." Kakashi turned to see Iruka standing there. "Iruka, I'm sure you are concerned for their well being. But they are my students, not yours anymore. I know what they are capable of." Kakashi responded. "I've known them the longest. They're not ready! Please lord Hokage, I beg you." Iruka pleaded. The Hokage thought for a minute. "Iruka, if you believe they are not ready. Then I say that a test should be conducted to see if they are indeed capable of taking on the chuunin exams. You will test them of course."
Kakashi added one last comment, "I must say though, Tension Dart must be left out of this. I know what he is capable of and I am certain he is ready."
The Hokage looked at Kakashi and nodded. "Very well. Iruka, please respect Kakashi's wishes"
Iruka nodded. Kakashi also nodded in agreement. "Very well then. You are all dismissed!" All the ninja scattered in puffs of smoke.
The next day…
Naruto walked towards the building where the exams would take place. He was quite excited. It had discouraged him however that the day before a mysterious ninja had attacked him and Konohamaru's friends while kidnapping Moegi. Naruto had defeated the ninja of course, but it didn't bother him and thought he wouldn't be coming back for a while. Unknown to Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke had encountered the same ninja as well. Unknown to all of them, this ninja was in fact Iruka in disguise.
The mysterious ninja disappeared from his thoughts as he walked into the building. 'Dart-niichan still hasn't returned.' Naruto frowned. 'At least he left me a note.' Naruto recalled the note left behind at the door of the apartment.
"Yo Naruto-niichan, don't worry if you don't see me this morning, I'll meet you and everyone else at the building where the chuunin exam takes place.
Your Number One Spiky Headed ninja,
Tension Dart"
Naruto lifted his frown and made a small grin. There was no way Dart would give up so easily. Naruto went to the stairs and immediately found Sakura and Sasuke. "Hi Sakura-chan!" Naruto stated as he walked towards them. "Hey Dobe, where's Dart?" Sasuke quickly asked.
Naruto looked at Sasuke. "He said he would meet us here so in the mean time, why don't we head up?" Naruto motioned to the stairs. Everyone nodded and walked up to the second floor where the exam was to take place in room 3B. Upon climbing the stairs to the desired floor team seven walked down the corridor. However they found a conflict happening outside the room of where the exam would be taking place.
There were two genin outside of the room blocking access to anyone who tried to get in. In front was a boy in a very odd green jumpsuit with bobbed black hair and a girl in green pants and a pink shirt with ball sized buns on the side of her head. "Please let us in! We have to take the exams." The girl pleaded.
"If you can't even get past us, then what makes you think you can pass the chuunin exams?" one of the opposing genin stated with a snicker. "What's going on?" Sasuke asked as he walked onto the scene. "Why won't you let any of these people through?" The genin guarding the door kept his stance. "Because you are all too weak to take the exam." All of a sudden the other genin started charging Sasuke. Sasuke did not back down however, and charged too. A strange thing was that everyone sensed movement from the kid in the green jumpsuit. Before anyone suspected anything, the ninja was in between Sasuke and the stubborn genin. 'He's fast.' Sasuke thought while smirking. The ninja spoke, "The chuunin exams have not started, so I think it is wise to save the fighting for later." The other genin however was not done and broke off with Sasuke and the fast ninja. He dashed back with a forward kick and Sasuke was going to counter with a punch of his own. The third green suited ninja sighed as he was going to counter with a low sweep. Then when all the blows collided, everyone was shocked to see the attacks all land on a single target. The new ninja caught Sasuke's punch and the foot of the other ninja. The green suited ninja was on the floor ready to do his own version of a leg sweep, but his leg was stopped by a firm foot stomped on his leg. The ninja in black looked up from the ground revealing his face. "Yo."
Naruto looked at the ninja with incredible speed and grinned. "What took you so long Dart-niichan? You've been gone for a week now." Dart pushed everyone back several feet and walked to Naruto. "I was training like crazy! You can never be too prepared for something like this." Sakura looked at Dart and the three ninja he just sent flying back. "I can see there have been some results."
Dart looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, there sure have." Dart looked back to the ninjas he had just thrown back. Sasuke wasn't thrown very hard and was still on his feet. "Hmph. Its not like this matters. This isn't even the right room. Right Sakura?" Sasuke turned to Sakura who was confused. "Uh yeah. This is way too simple. We're only on the second floor." Then the room number above the door magically turned from "3B" to "2B".
The two genin who had not permitted anyone to pass quickly smirked. "Well I guess you caught us." Then they disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura smiled as did everyone on team 7. Suddenly they were confronted by the ninja in the green jumpsuit along with his team. "My name is Rock Lee!"he stated. "I notice you are an Uchiha. I hope to meet you in combat." Lee turned towards Dart. "You are a fast one, I must admit. I do not know of your origin, but I am curious to meet you in battle!" Lee said. Dart grinned. "I am Tension Dart. I am also eager to fight you!" Lee made a smile and replied, "I look forward to it!"
Then Lee turned to Sakura and said, "You are a beautiful and smart! I will protect you with my life! Please be my girlfriend!" Sakura looked at him in horror and disgust. "Eww! No way! Your hair looks goofy and creepy, that suit doesn't look good at all, and those huge eyebrows are way too creepy!" Sakura said as she stated a long list of reasons why she wouldn't date the speedy ninja. Lee had a disappointed expression and leaned against the wall. Then Lee's teammate, Neji, came up and spoke to Sasuke. "You! What is your name?" "It's rude to ask for someone's name before addressing your own." Sasuke replied. "What!?" Neji said in anger. Then Naruto interrupted, "Hey, don't you want to know my name?!" Neji walked away and said, "I don't care." Then Naruto found himself along side with Lee sulking in the same position. "Ha! Man those two need to calm down! It's not anything too serious." Dart said in a serious tone. Sakura giggled a little bit. Then Ten-Ten, the girl with the buns on her head, came in and asked, "Are you a brother of Sasuke? You guys look a lot alike." Dart immediately found himself along side with Naruto and Lee. "Creepy?" Lee said. "No one wants to know my name." Naruto said. "A brother of Sasuke's?" Dart also added. Sakura's giggle turned into silence as a sweat drop fell down on the back of her head. 'He is such a hypocrite' Sakura thought.
After collecting their cool, Dart and Naruto walked back to Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke was the first to talk. "What have you been doing all this time?" Dart gave him a smile and replied, "Training!" Sasuke sighed. Naruto spoke, "Don't we still have to head to the third floor?" Everyone nodded. Team seven walked up the stairs and entered the hallway on the third floor. As they walked through the hallway, it ended at a large room. They were on a balcony overlooking the room. It was large and spacious which meant it was probably used for training. Dart and Naruto walked ahead with Sakura behind. Last was Sasuke who took his time. However they would not leave as quickly as they intended to.
"Stop!" Everyone turned around to see Rock Lee at the top of the balcony. Sasuke made a smirk, Dart grinned, Naruto and Sakura made a look of surprise. Rock Lee jumped over the railing and landed on two feet with on hand behind him with his other hand in front facing upwards. "Uchiha Sasuke, I demand a challenge. I want to see how I am against the leaf's strongest genin." Sasuke was about to speak when Naruto took a few steps forward. "I'll take him Sasuke." Naruto said. Sasuke smirked and said. "Fine."
Naruto charged ahead despite Sakura and Dart's protests. Lee stood his ground. "I do not want to fight you, but if you insist. Naruto made a dashing punch for Lee's face, but Lee stood still. Before Naruto's hand got any closer, Lee quickly slapped it away with his hand towards the floor. Unfortunately Naruto was in the air, thus sending his whole body in a different direction.
Naruto quickly recovered and with a grin tried to balance himself on the ground with his hand. Naruto made a quick handstand and without losing any momentum, set up a kick towards Lee. 'I'm not done yet!' Naruto thought. However Lee was not done either. Lee made the same leg sweep motion he did back on the second floor. Lee crouched down and with precision and speed swiped Naruto's hand causing him to fall. Naruto's makeshift handstand failed causing Naruto to spin out of control and slide into the wall.
Lee looked back at Sasuke. "I came to challenge you!" Lee kept his confident, yet serious face. Sasuke sighed. "Fine." Sasuke got into a fighting stance and ran at Lee. Lee stood still trying to anticipate his opponent's moves. Sasuke ran confidently and set up a punch for Lee. However Lee caught the fist without flinching. Sasuke continued to attack. Punch after punch, kick after kick; Lee would catch them all not allowing a single hit through. Sasuke was getting annoyed and finally decided to do another kick. He swiftly thrust his left leg forward without losing any balance. The leg went for Lee's right side on the abdomen.
Lee moved his upper torso slightly sideways so the kick barely grazed him. Lee raised his right leg and straightened it aiming directly at Sasuke's face. The foot extended and connected with Sasuke's right cheek. Sasuke's face absorbed the blow and Sasuke's whole body flew backwards.
Sasuke landed on his feet with out any stumble. Lee kept his leg in the air for a few seconds before putting it back down slowly. Sasuke wiped his cheek with his shoulder along with the small amount of blood trickling from his lips. 'I can't land a single hit! He has to be using some special jutsu.' Sasuke stopped rubbing his face. "I guess I have to use that then." Sasuke said. Sakura gasped a little.
'Is he talking about? Could he mean?' Sakura thought as she stared at her friend admiringly. Dart had his arms folded and let out a small snicker. 'He's so full of himself.' Dart thought before letting out a yawn. Sasuke had his eyes closed and his face was full of concentration. 'Whatever trick he's using. I'll see it now!' Sasuke opened his eyes widely revealing black spheres embedded in crimson. The Sharingan.
Sakura gasped louder this time. The only one who could hear was Dart. 'The sharingan! Sasuke's so cool! He'll win now!'
Dart looked at his awestricken teammate and let out a 'humph'. Sakura let out a glare. Dart made a small smirk and said, "Just watch." Sakura quickly became confused and turned her attention back on Sasuke.
Sasuke charged Lee with confidence. Lee noticed the change in his opponent's eyes, but made no change in expression. Sasuke smirked and brought his arm closer to him to begin a punch. Then as he got within arm's reach of Lee, Sasuke quickly let his arm fly. Sasuke's arm however stopped midway when Lee vanished. 'What the?' Then Sasuke felt pain in his chest. Before he knew it he was drifting in the air. Being one foot off the ground and still ascending Sasuke noticed Lee with his leg sticking out upwards below him. Lee had kicked him in the air and Sasuke never saw his movements. Lee vanished again and miraculously appeared behind Sasuke.
"How did you?" Sasuke could only say. Lee said in his ear, "My technique is not ninjutsu or genjutsu. My moves are all Taijutsu. It is true the Sharingan can see any move very quickly allowing the user to stop it or even copy it even before the enemy knows what he is going to do. However if your body cannot keep up with your eyes then you cannot stop something very fast even when you see it coming. You are born being a genius and do not know the meaning of hard work! I have to practice every single day to perfect my moves while you are simply born gifted. Now I will show you the results of my hard work!"
Lee started to unwrap his bandages and Sasuke was unaware of what was going on. However Lee never finished. A kunai flew through the air and intercepted one of the bandages and impaling it on the wall. Lee stopped midair and fell to the ground once the length of his bandages wouldn't let him.
Sakura gasped as she saw Sasuke fly towards the ground. She lifted he foot off the floor to begin a sprint but a hand touched her shoulder and stopped her. She turned around and saw Dart. Dart sighed. "I'll get him." Then Dart disappeared in front of Sakura's eyes. Sakura turned around and looked at Sasuke again. He was falling faster towards the ground and she thought he would be injured badly.
Then Dart appeared again right on the spot where Sasuke was about to land. He yawned and with a lazy face stuck his palm high in the air and caught Sasuke on his back. Sasuke lay limp on Dart's palm in the air for a few seconds. Dart held Sasuke's body high above his ahead with a slightly annoyed look before setting him on the ground. Naruto had finally recovered and joined Dart's side making a grin at Sasuke. Dart looked at the person responsible for the intrusion of the fight.
A tortoise stood on all fours at the opposite side of the room. In front was a very desperate Lee apologizing nonstop. Naruto stood dumbstruck. Team seven looked on in confusion except for Dart who had a smirk and a "know-it-all" face put on.
Then a poof of smoke appeared on top of the turtle. Everyone looked at the small smoky explosion. A man appeared out of the smoke in a very similar outfit of Lee's with his hand forming a "thumbs up".
"Hey everybody! What's shaking!" was the statement made by the crazy jounin. "EH!!!!!!" was team's sevens reply. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke's faces all had a shocked expression filled with surprise and a small amount of horror. Dart's face quickly changed and his eyebrows twitched. 'I knew what to expect…but meeting Gai-sensei in real life is….still shocking.'
"That guy is weird looking!" Naruto yelled. Lee's ears perked up instantly at this comment. "Gai-sensei is not weird looking! He is one of the most respected, strongest, ninja in the village!" Lee began yelling off more defending statements when Gai-sensei signaled him to stop. "It's alright Lee. Let it go." Lee made a salute to his sensei. "Right!"
Gai started talking to his student about his punishment. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were lost in a daze. Dart quickly got their attention by making a clap above their heads. "Oy! Let's go! I don't want to be late for the exams!!!"
Everyone nodded in agreement and walked off. Sasuke had a face of anger on his face. Everyone noticed this, but refused to talk to him. Sasuke suddenly stopped and grumbled.
"Sasuke…" Sakura said with a look of concern. Sasuke looked down at the ground with out showing his face, Dart looked at Sasuke and made a small chuckle. "What? Are you still pissed that he beat you? Big deal!"
"Just…!" Sasuke said loudly, but Naruto interfered also. "Ha! Lee sure kicked your ass!" Naruto said. Dart gave a look to Naruto. "He kicked your ass too, if I recall!" Dart said.
"Just shut up!" Sasuke yelled. Everyone became quiet. Naruto looked at the ground, but made another comment. "Did you see his hands? Lee's I mean. They were all scarred and stuff. He certainly trains more than you." Sasuke stood still for a moment. Then he turned his head up and faced the group. He had his smirk and said, "The chuunin exams huh? Well, I can't wait to see what's next." Everyone smiled at his comment happy to see him back in his regular mood. They started walking off again.
"Heh heh. He's calm down now. Thanks to Naruto I guess." Dart whispered to himself. "Wait a minute! What the hell was with the sudden attitude change?! That was a little too sudden! Crying one second, all content the next! I bet he's just bottling it up!"
"Did you say something Dart?" Sasuke said from the front of the group.
"Nope!"
Naruto and the others found themselves in front of the room where the chuunin exams would take place. However there was a certain Jounin standing in front of the double doors leading to the exam. A certain grey haired ninja with a certain orange, perverted book.
"Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked as he spotted the older Jounin. Kakashi changed his gaze from the inside of the book to his group of students walking over to him. He stood straight and addressed his students.
"Well I see you are all here." Kakashi said. "Well then, that means I won't have to stop you. You can go on ahead." Kakashi's statement earned a few confused looks.
"What do you mean Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. Kakashi turned to her. "Well Sakura, the chuunin exams need to be taken as a team and nothing less. If one of you had not decided to show, then I wouldn't be permitted to let you in."
Everyone's face was now in shock. Kakashi's expression remained the same. Kakashi let out a sigh and said, "But you guys are all here. So you can go." Kakashi walked towards the wall and leaned on it and began reading again.
Naruto made a large grin and walked towards the door. "Don't worry Kakashi sensei! We'll make you proud!" Naruto kept his grin on and was rubbing his nose. Dart walked up to Naruto and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Hell yeah we will! Let's do this!" Dart turned back to receive smiles from Sakura and Sasuke. Dart turned back to Naruto and nodded. Sakura and Sasuke stepped towards the door. Naruto put his hands on the door and pushed through.
Team seven found a somewhat disturbing sight. It was a large classroom and it was filled completely with people. As soon as they stepped in the room, everyone had directed their attention towards team seven. Dart surveyed the room and found some intimidating stares, but he simply chuckled. 'I'd probably be a little more scared if these guys weren't all genin.'
Sakura on the other hand, found the glares from the older participants quite horrifying. Sakura brought her hands closer to her chest as if to protect her self. Then she heard a familiar voice.
"Hey! What do you know! It's team seven!" Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Dart turned their attention to the voice. They found Kiba followed by Hinata and Shino. "Kiba. It's been a while." Sasuke said. Sakura smiled and ignored all the other chuunin participants. "Hey guys! What's up!" Sakura said.
Naruto and Dart walked over and smiled. Kiba noticing Naruto made a wave and replied, "Oh nothing. We've just been training like crazy! My team is sure to get a promotion!" Sasuke smirked. "Don't be cocky. We've been training as well."
By this time, Shikamaru's team had joined up. "What's going on guys?" Shikamaru asked lazily. Dart became the one to answer his greeting. "Hey guys. We were just catching up. This is awesome. It's like a rookie 9 reunion."
Kiba spoke, "Well I know we've been training. What about you guys?" Kiba pointed a finger at team seven. Naruto spoke out of pride, "We've been training like hell! You think you're so bad!? You don't even know the meaning of training!" Naruto pointed back at Kiba. Dart intervened, "Naruto, As much as I agree with you right now, I have to say, if this was a contest on who's trained the most, I would kick your ass in that department!"
Dart folded his arms and closed his eyes with a grin. "Well at least I had room for breaks this entire week!" Naruto replied before folding his arms and looking away. Sakura decided to side with Naruto and smiled. "You know Dart. We still have yet to see the results of your "non-stop" training." Sakura said whiled using her fingers as quotations at "non-stop". Sakura stood by Naruto and gave Dart the peace sign while sticking her tongue out.
Dart simply shrugged it off. "Heh just wait. You'll see." Everyone looked at Dart and Sakura questioningly. "What are you talking about Sakura?" Ino asked.
Sakura kept her smile and looked towards Ino and the others. "Mr. Porcupine here," Sakura points at Dart, "has been gone for a week straight, supposedly training."
"And I was training! You guys just need patience! Heh, you'll see." Dart said with a grin. With that everyone was quiet. Then an unknown presence greeted them.
"Hello. You must be the rookies of this year." Everyone turned to the origin of the voice. There was a young man with grey hair and glasses in a purple uniform with a grey shirt underneath. "Who are you?" Naruto asked. The man walked forward.
"You can call me Kabuto. I'm a veteran of the chuunin exam, I guess you could say." "A veteran?" Sakura questioned. "Yeah. I've taken this exam six times. This will be my seventh." Everyone just stared. By the sounds of it, this exam wasn't easy. "At least being here for a while has its advantages. I pretty know a lot of information." Kabuto paused, "If you want, I could even give you details on a certain someone."
This immediately caught the attention of Sasuke. Naruto looked back and forth as Sasuke immediately began talking to him. 'Well I'm not sure what's going on! But I'll just pretend to.' Dart started laughing as soon as he saw Naruto's confused face quickly turn into a serious one.
After Kabuto revealed some information to Sasuke about a certain noble, green, beast and a certain mysterious sand ninja; Kabuto stood back up. "Well I look forward to adding information about you as well. I mean you certainly have drawn attention to yourself already." Everyone immediately understood what he was talking about and looked towards the center of the room. The rookie nine had the attention of the entire mass of genin on them.
Sakura immediately started to go in a panic. 'Everyone is looking! It's so…scary.' Sakura then noticed Naruto standing in front of her. He was looking down and trembling.
'He must be a little nervous. Right now he's making me a little nervous. I mean he's usually so stubborn. For him to break down right now, poor guy. I should cheer him up!' Sakura thought cheerfully. Naruto continued shaking and didn't show his face.
"Hey Naruto. It's okay it's…" Sakura stopped. Naruto pointed his finger to everyone. "OK! I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm gonna kick all your asses in this exam dattebayo!"
Naruto earned several looks from all the other genin as well as the Rookie nine. Naruto put his hand back down and crossed his arms with a content grip. Sakura's sympathetic emotions immediately vanished. Bonk! "Baka! Don't do that! Do you want to get us killed!" Sakura put Naruto in a head lock. She started to choke him and Naruto became helpless.
"I'm sorry Sakura-chan!" Naruto managed to couch out. Sakura would give no mercy! Sakura held her death grip.
'Baka! Never thinking about anyone else!'
'Squeeze harder! He should suffer!'
'He should huh? I'm gonna….What the hell?!'
Sakura averted her eyes from Naruto to Dart. He walked in front of her and uncrossed his arms. He started to move his arm. His arm was pointing outwards. He took one deep breath. 'OH NO!'
Sakura immediately grabbed Dart's head in her other arm squeezing both Dart and Naruto. "Don't go imitating Naruto's antics!" Sakura whispered loudly in Dart's ear.
"Aww! I wanted to do that! No fair. I should have done it first." Dart complained. "Thanks Naruto," Dart said sarcastically. Naruto grinned. Naruto and Dart's grin were both short lived as Sakura squeezed harder. "Ack!" "Ugh!"
"Shut up both of you!" Sakura said angrily. Dart finally noticing she was uncomfortable let out a smile. "Sakura-chan, don't be scared. These guys are all genin and look how old they are! They can't be that good." Dart whispered just loud enough for Naruto and Sakura to hear.
Sakura gave thought to this. "You're right. That makes me feel a little better." Sakura replied. Sakura looked at the people staring. They looked less threatening. Sakura could see through some of the bluffs. She let out a sigh.
All of a sudden a flash of someone whizzing was seen. Three shinobi all weaved in and out of the genin crowd. One of them struck out at Kabuto. The man was hunched over and was covered completely. His sleeves fell to the ground and his head was bandaged. Kabuto dodge the swipe with a smirk. The ninja, identified as a sound ninja, said nothing. Then Kabuto's glasses broke. Kabuto fell over and vomited leaving everyone with a shocked face.
"You and your cards. You aren't as strong as you seem. No wonder you've been here six times already." The sound ninja stated. "Kabuto!" Naruto yelled as he went to help him up while Sakura followed.
The ninjas turned around to leave. "Oy." The sound ninjas stopped. "Quoting a friend of mine, 'leave the fighting for later'."
The lead sound ninja turned around. "What?" he said hastily. He turned to face Dart standing in front of Kabuto, Naruto, and Sakura. "You should leave the fighting for the exam. However, you seem to want an ass kicking." Dart said with a serious face. The rookie nine remained silent as well as everyone else in the room.
"Ah you, the one with that trained all week. You shouldn't be so cocky." "Same goes for you, causing uproar." The sound ninja became angry. "I'll show you not to get so cocky!" The ninja charged. Dart remained still but got in a defensive position to protect everyone behind him, readying a punch as well.
Then an explosion set off at the front of the room. The cloud of smoke subsided and there was a group of chuunin. In the middle of the group was an older man wearing a bandana and a black trench coat. "That is enough! Sound ninja! There is no fighting until the official exam starts." Everyone's tension was released. The sound ninja stood still. "This isn't over," the lead sound ninja stated before walking away.
"Listen up! My name is Ibiki Morino! I am your proctor for this exam and your worst nightmare. Now everyone take a seat."
Dart walked over to Kabuto who was still shaky. Dart sighed and helped him up. 'Even though he's an enemy, I have to help him.'
"Well. You sure are confident. Thanks." Kabuto said with a smile. "Don't mention it." Naruto looked at Dart. "That was awesome Dart-niichan!"
Dart gave a smile. "Sure was!" They both high-fived. "Alright I'm gonna sit now. Good luck!" Dart said before taking a seat towards the back. Everyone stared at Dart. He became less serious and was back to his silly self. Naruto didn't mind and took a seat as well. Withing the minute the whole room was silent and everyone was seated.
'Hmm, I wonder if I should take a nap.' Dart thought.
The first chuunin exam was difficult. At least it seemed difficult. It was a written exam with ten questions. As expected when Dart looked over his test, he couldn't understand a single one of the questions. Dart had sat at the back and for good reason. Around the midpoint of the test he could see few people scribbling in their test. Every now and then he could see someone using some jutsu, but it was rare.
'Maybe I should answer at least a couple questions.' Dart thought. Dart sighed in jealousy as he saw Sakura writing like mad in her test. 'Well maybe my study sessions with Sakura-chan might pay off after all.' Dart spent the entire hour working on a couple questions.
By the time he was done the exam was almost over. Ibiki had started his final question. "I will ask the final question. However…if you don't answer the question, you fail!" Everyone in the room immediately began to question.
"If you do choose to answer though and you get it right, then you pass. If you get it wrong, you will remain a genin forever!" Everyone was silent from shock. Dart had already made his decision, but he noticed Naruto quiver. 'Hang in there.'
Soon many genin were rising from their seats and leaving. More than half the room was eliminated. Dart didn't see any hesitancy in Sakura and Sasuke, but Naruto was still shaking. 'Well I guess we're going on then.' Dart predicted with a laugh. Knowing the future had its advantages.
Sakura started to raise her hand up. 'I can't let his dreams get crushed. Even if…' Sakura's eyes widened. Naruto raised his hand up. This earned several confused and shocked looks. SLAM! Naruto slammed his hand down. "You don't scare me! I'm not running away even if I remain a genin! I'm still going to become hokage someday!"
The proctor was stunned. 'That was unexpected. Well that kid's got spunk. I'll give him that.' He turned around to the other chuunin. They all nodded.
"Hmm…Congratulations! You all pass!"
Registering for the second exam was quite annoying, for Dart anyway. Never the less he had his registration sheet signed the fastest out of team seven. Now they were jumping through the forest. The Forest of Death. It was infested with large trees covering the sky completely with leaves and branches.
Dart became quite bored. Naruto did as well and complained every once in a while. Dart sighed. 'This isn't as fun as I thought it would be.' Dart eyed Sakura. 'Well a person could die from boredom I think. So I'm gonna exercise my right to protect myself.'
Dart leaped over to Sakura. "What are you doing?" Sakura turned her head to her side. "What kind of question is that? I swear your becoming like Naruto everyday! I'm jumping of course!" Sakura stated. Dart chuckled.
"Ok, I meant, what are you thinking? But I changed my mind," Dart paused. "Speaking of Naruto." Dart said. Sakura eyed him. She had a feeling she wasn't going to be comfortable with his words.
"What about him?" Sakura questioned. Sakura was really curious what her comrade was going to say. "Well, I couldn't help but notice during the first exam…" Dart said slowly.
'Oh god! He's not going to bring that up is he?' Sakura couldn't help think in embarrassment.
"You were going to raise your hand to give up. But I know you and I don't think you would easily give up. You were smart enough to take on any question. Naruto on the other hand was showing some hesitancy. I'm sure you noticed." Dart paused as if waiting for a comment. He continued, "I can tell Sakura-chan. You did it for him, right?"
Sakura looked at him with a blush ready to make its way towards her face. "I…I didn't want to see him crushed." Sakura said without looking at Dart. "I noticed he was scared, but he wouldn't give in so I…" Sakura was almost on the verge of letting out light tears.
"You care for him, don't you?" Dart said to confirm himself. "I…" "It's alright. I didn't mean to startle you. Just…Just sort out your feelings ok?" Dart said softly with a smile. Dart made a large grin and leapt ahead.
After about ten minutes of jumping through the branches, Sasuke stopped. "Let's stop here!" Everyone jumped from the high branches to a small clearing. Sasuke immediately began thinking of a plan. Naruto started to head for the bushes. "I've got to go." Naruto stated.
Dart immediately noticed Sakura's gaze on Naruto. 'Oh crap, she's still thinking about him!' Dart quickly called to Naruto. "Yo! Naruto!" Naruto turned around before he could make a fool of himself.
"Yeah?" "Umm. Never mind. Where are you going again?" Naruto gave Dart a puzzled look and scratched his head. "I'm going to the bathroom."
"Ah! Ok. You're going in the bushes over there right?" Dart said while pointing far off. Naruto caught Dart's drift and nodded in realization. "Of course!" Naruto took off.
Dart let out a sigh of relief. His sigh was short lived when Naruto came back a second later. Dart glanced over to Sasuke. "Sasuke" "I know."
Dart walked over to "Naruto". "Hey Naruto! I have to ask you something!" Dart said with a smile. "Sure!"
Dart put on a large grin and patted his "friend" on the shoulder. "Since when have you become left handed?" Dart's grip tightened and the ninja was raised off the ground by the collar. The henge disappeared and the impostor revealed his true self. It was a mist ninja in a full body suit with a gas mask.
"So you saw through my disguise." "Well yeah. I know my friend better than anyone and also that disguise was pretty pathetic." The mist ninja's face turned into anger. His hand reached for a pouch.
"Don't even think about it!" Dart's grip became tighter. Sasuke walked up to the nin who was held up a foot above the ground. "Do you have the scroll?" Sasuke asked.
"No, consider yourselves lucky because my team will…" the ninja didn't finish his sentence. Dart's fist was in his gut and the ninja had the wind knocked out of him. Dart dropped him to the ground. Sasuke checked the unconscious ninja for the scroll. He was telling the truth. Nothing.
Sakura was very shocked by the turn of events that had just occurred. She stood silent. "Well he's not much use." Dart said while picking up the knocked out mist-nin. Dart pulled his own body back and hurled the ninja. The ninja was sent like a rag doll through the forest hitting branches repeatedly more than a mile away. Sasuke smirked.
Sakura stared in amazement. Dart turned around and grinned, "He'll live." Sakura chuckled and looked around. "Oh my god! Naruto!" Sakura ran in the direction where Naruto was previously seen walking.
Sakura found Naruto tied up and yelling for help. "Sakura-chan!" he yelled. "Did that mist nin get you? If he did I'm gonna…!" Sakura giggled. "Calm down. Dart got him. You should be more careful!" Sakura untied Naruto. Naruto got up and loosened his wrists.
"It's not my fault Sakura-chan! He snuck up behind me right after I finished my…um, 'business'. I couldn't defend myself!" Sakura hit him on the head and then giggled. "Well Baka! Next time have someone go with you!"
"Is everything ok over there?" Dart called from afar. "Everything's fine!" Sakura yelled back.
"We need a plan. We can't have people constantly sneaking on us." Sasuke stated.
Everyone one was seated on the ground in a circle. "What do you suggest?" Sakura asked. Sasuke thought for a moment. "A password."
"A password?" Naruto repeated. "Yes, a phrase we say to each other to confirm it's us." Sasuke explained.
"So if anyone that's an enemy is transformed into us, we'll be able to tell if they are an enemy or not." Dart confirmed. "Exactly."
"Well, what is it?" Naruto asked. Sasuke scooted towards the middle a little closer. "Ok, listen carefully. I'm only going to say this once. I'm going to ask, 'When does a ninja strike? And the answer has to be, 'A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike.'"
Sakura had a smirk on her face. Naruto was in confusion. Dart wasn't much different from Naruto's.
"I think I get it." Dart said breaking the silence. Naruto scratched his head. "Umm sure. Can you say that again?"
"Jeez Naruto! I got it already. You should really practice your memorization skills." Sakura said. Dart sighed. "Don't worry Naruto I'll help you with it. Even though she is kind of right."
"Hey! It's not my fault that I'm not as smart as Sakura-chan!" I'm not as smart as Sakura-chan either! I'm just saying you could learn better memory skills."
"Hmph! Right whatever." "You know what! You probably wouldn't even be in this situation if you studied more as a kid!"
"It's not like you study." "I'm not talking about me! We're talking about you!"
"I think you're a hypocrite." "What! Right back at you! Besides, I studies with Sakura-chan!" "After she forced you to!"
"Shut up you can just…! Argh! This is pointless!" "Heh heh! Nothing more to say?"
"You know what! Don't make me sick your girlfriend over there on you!" "Sakura-chan is not my girlfriend!"
"You wish she was!" "EH?!" "Ha! Look who's speechless now!" "Why you!"
Sakura and Sasuke had sweat drops on the back of their head as they stared at the two room mates argue. Sakura's eyebrow twitched when ever she heard her name, and "girlfriend" in the same sentence.
After a long argument, Dart and Naruto were both laughing. "Done?" Sasuke asked. "Yup." Dart replied.
Suddenly all the trees were blowing and leaves were flying everywhere. There was a strong gust and everyone was covering their face with their arms.
Dart tried to see what was going on. Sasuke and Sakura were stumbling trying to find something to grip as the wind kept knocking them back. Dart was holding his ground effectively as he simply stomped the ground leaving his feet planted to the floor. Naruto was no where to be seen.
Finally the wind subsided and everyone stood up. Sakura and Sasuke were about ten feet from their original positions while Dart was stuck in his original spot thanks to his strength and his feet in the ground.
'Where's Naruto?' Dart questioned in his mind. On queue Naruto came running from the trees. "Is everyone ok!?" Sasuke immediately reacted.
"What's the pass phrase?!" Sasuke asked as he got a kunai ready. "Oh right. A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike."
Sasuke grinned. In a second he immediately punched Naruto in the face sending him flying. Sakura gasped. "He got it right though! Why'd you do that Sasuke?!" Sakura asked.
"Because he's not Naruto, Sakura-chan". Dart answered. "The real Naruto wouldn't have been able to memorize that phrase." Dart continued. Sakura thought about this. 'He's actually right. Naruto wouldn't have been able to say that. He would have given some dumb answer or something.'
"Hm hm hm hm. I guess you got me. You know your teammate very well," the fake Naruto stated. The impostor Naruto released his disguise and returned to normal. It was a grass nin with long black hair and a large purple rope tied around their waist. Their eyes though were very intimidating. The eyes were very reptilian like.
'That…that ninja!' Dart could think in horror. "Ah yesss. You must be the Uchiha. My my, I've heard quite a bit about you," the grass nin said.
Sasuke stood still. This ninja wasn't any ordinary ninja. How did he know about him? The grass ninja suddenly put his right hand over his left eye. He pulled some of the skin back! The skin underneath was pale and the eye's pupil widened.
In a flash, Dart saw blinding light. However he was far from blinded. A kunai went straight through his neck. He was bleeding! He clutched his throat as blade after blade went through his body. Suddenly he noticed one of the kunai had a tag sticking off of it.
'An explosion tag!' The kunai imbedded itself in Dart's chest. The sizzling was getting worse. 'Oh no!' Dart waited.
The explosion never came. 'Snap out of it!' Vertilous' voice never sounded any more soothing at that time. Dart was actually glad to hear it.
Dart couldn't move. Neither could Sakura or Sasuke. They were paralyzed. 'From one gaze? How?!' Sasuke thought.
'This person…he's not ordinary. I can sense the blood lust. The murderous intent.' Dart stood still. 'I have to stop him!' 'Don't be foolish! He could kill us both!' 'It doesn't matter!'
Dart's hand twitched. 'Good. I just need to move a little more.' Dart noticed Sasuke and Sakura were completely frozen. They wouldn't budge an inch. Sakura was crying and trembling. Sasuke was shaking also. 'I guess because it was a form of genjutsu I didn't affect me much.'
'To be able to see your own death. That is tormenting. That man is a monster.' 'Well I guess I should thank you.'
"The prey always runs, but the hunter always prevails. You should have run when you had the chance. Now you shall fall victim to my jutsu!" "I won't let you!" Dart yelled. Dart started charging with a fist raised. 'I can't let Orochimaru hurt Sakura or Sasuke! If I kill him I can prevent the bad things in the future! He can't give the curse mark!'
Dart threw shuriken towards Orochimaru. The snake man easily dodged, but found himself in front of Dart. "Impressive. You managed to free yourself from your fear." Dart attempted a punch, but his arms wouldn't move. He looked at his body. He was tied by a tongue!
'What the hell!' Dart traced the tongue's origin to Orochimaru. "You are an interesting prey. It's a shame, but you are in my way!" Dart's eyes widened. E was lifted off the ground. The tongue started to spin around wildly. It stopped quickly and unwrapped itself sending Dart flying in the opposite direction with great force.
Dart flew through the trees. His back hit multiple branches, but he never slowed. Soon he actually went through the trees themselves making holes in the center. Finally his body slammed against a grand tree. He fell down and body twisted and turned as his crash to the floor was interrupted by more branches. Dart was barely conscious, but he could of sworn he saw running water below him.
Naruto was scared. Where was everyone? What if something had happened to them? 'Damn it! I shouldn't have gotten separated! That giant snake hadn't helped either!' Naruto followed a large path engraved by some force. It was very long and looked to be made by the wind that had forced him back. Naruto was hit by the storm directly and had flown far away. When he came to there was a large snake to greet him.
Through luck Naruto had defeated the snake by creating multiple kage bunshin in the belly of the snake causing it to explode. Now he was desperately trying to find his friends. 'Where are you guys!?'
Naruto finally came to the clearing where he was before blasted away. He looked around. Naruto climbed up a tree to get a better survey of the area. 'Come on! You guys have to be here somewhere!' Naruto then noticed a glimpse of pink.
'Sakura-chan!' Naruto quickly leaped through the branches towards Sakura-chan. As he got closer, he saw Sasuke as well. There he also saw a weird ninja wrapped around a tree like a snake. Sasuke and Sakura seemed frightened of him and were trying to stop him.
'What the? That's freaky! He's trying to get to Sakura-chan and Sasuke! I have to stop him!' As the ninja climbed up the tree rapidly, Naruto threw some kunai to stop him. The kunai landed right in front if his face. "What the?"
Everyone looked over to Naruto. "Don't ever try to hurt my friends!" Naruto yelled. Sakura let out a face of happiness. "Naruto! That was cool!" Naruto couldn't help but blush.
"Naruto! Stay out of this!" Sasuke yelled. Orochimaru leapt off the tree and onto a branch several feet away from Sasuke. "Well Sasuke. If you just give me your scroll. Then I'll leave you and your team with your lives!"
Sasuke paused. Naruto stared at him in disbelief. Sasuke reached into his pouch and pulled out the scroll needed to pass the exam. "Just take it and go." All of a sudden Naruto appeared in front of Sasuke and punched him directly in the face.
Sasuke flew back surprised by the force. "How could you! You can't be the real Sasuke! The real Sasuke wouldn't be such a coward so such a thing!" Naruto said fiercely.
"Naruto you dobe! I am the real Sasuke! I'm doing this for out own good!" Sasuke yelled back. "Do you honestly think he'll just leave us alone! He'll just kill us! I can't believe you! You coward!" Naruto yelled. His voice sounded much deeper, almost darker.
"Well Sasuke. I was actually going to kill you when I got the scroll, but now I'm afraid I'm going to have to take it from you by force!" Naruto turned to Orochimaru. "I'm gonna stop you!"
Naruto's speed was much faster, but the branches below him broke as Orochimaru released another wind jutsu. Naruto flew upwards by the force. "Now then, it's time to end this." Orochimaru said. With in seconds, a giant snake speared in front of Orochimaru. The snake darted forward towards Naruto. Naruto was falling downwards and immediately began a punching frenzy to the behemoth snake's face.
Surprisingly the snake reacted to the punches and smashed Naruto to the side with its head. "Well then! Go get the Uchiha!" Orochimaru yelled. The snake charged Sasuke who was completely frozen. Sasuke put his arms to defend himself. The impact never came. There was a loud BANG. Sasuke was stunned. Naruto was standing in front of him.
"Hey. Are you ok, scaredycat?" Naruto said as he held the snake back. Sasuke said nothing. Suddenly a tongue wrapped itself around Naruto and took him away. Orochimaru held Naruto tight while he thrashed. Orochimaru suddenly struck Naruto's chest with his hand. "Five Pronged Seal!"
Naruto screamed in pain, but went limp before Orochimaru threw him off to the side. Sakura panicked. "Naruto!" Sakura quickly threw a shuriken which impaled Naruto's jacket to a tree halting his fall. "Sasuke!"
Sasuke tensed. "You have to do something Sasuke!" Sasuke didn't respond. "Naruto may be rash and jump into situations, but…" Sakura paused, "At least he's not a coward!"
Sasuke's eyes widened. He had to. He had to fight even if it meant death. Orochimaru just smiled. Sasuke stopped shaking. 'If Naruto could find the courage, so can I! I cannot die here!'
Orochimaru stopped smiling. He dispelled the snake. "Well it seems someone wants to fight!" Sasuke took a defensive stance and closed his eyes. He opened them and they were no longer black, but red.
Orochimaru charged Sasuke. Sasuke simply stood still. The world slowed down. The incoming blows were slower and Sasuke deflected them with arms at ease. Sasuke made a punch and vaulted over Orochimaru, aiming a kick for his head in mid-air. Orochimaru snickered and vanished.
Sasuke tensed, nut remained calm. He looked around him. He surveyed the trees and found nothing. 'I have to trust my eyes.' Sasuke immediately spotted movement above him. He pulled out a kunai and threw it upwards.
"Die!" Orochimaru yelled. The kunai missed its target as Orochimaru positioned him self in an angle to just barely dodge the kunai. Orochimaru looked back towards Sasuke, but he wasn't there.
Suddenly a kick to the face was landed on Orochimaru in midair. Orochimaru flew and fell towards the forest floor which seemed very far away. Sasuke immediately jumped after the limp body. Clutching Orochimaru's waist he pushed his weight towards the ground. Orochimaru could only hasp before his head smashed into the ground.
Sasuke jumped off and stepped back Sakura jumped over to Sasuke's branch. The body fell over defeated. Suddenly it turned to mud and slipped off the branch. The real Orochimaru rose out of the branch. "Impressive Sasuke. You shall be mine!"
In an instant, Orochimaru's neck extended and his mouth was on Sasuke's neck, biting it. Sasuke screamed again while Sakura froze. Orochimaru's head slithered back. "You will seek me out for power, Sasuke." Then he vanished. Sasuke collapsed to the ground screaming in pain.
Sakura never felt so alone before. She was tired and slightly hungry. She was in a small cave-like structure formed by the roots of a giant tree. There was Sasuke and Naruto, both resting. They were out of it. Naruto was knocked out cold, while Sasuke would turn, twist, and occasionally grunt.
Sakura was on the verge of sleep. Her eyelids were getting heavy. Luckily she had the whole area booby trapped. She turned back towards Sasuke and Naruto. 'Why did you have to leave me alone? I'm so scared right now what if?'
Sakura shook her head. 'I won't let that happen! I will protect you guys!' Sakura looked directly at Naruto. 'If it weren't for you, we would probably be….' Sakura froze. She didn't want to think about that. Sakura looked back and forth between the two. She remembered her conversation with Dart.
'Just sort your feelings ok? Heh heh! What the hell do we know about love right? You care for him don't you?' Sakura glanced at them both. 'Do I have to choose?' Sakura' thoughts immediately stopped. 'Oh god! Where's Dart!' Sakura's eyes were getting slightly watery.
Suddenly she heard a presence. She turned around and her eyes widened. There were those sound ninja. 'The ones from earlier!' Sakura gasped.
"We've come for Sasuke! So wake him up!" one of the other sound ninja yelled. "It seems your 'cocky' friend isn't here. Oh well. We'll just make sure he knows we dropped by." The female sound ninja pulled out a Kunai knife and made a chuckle. Sakura immediately panicked. They made a leap towards Sakura. Sakura grinned and cut a nearby wire.
A huge log came out of no where and flew towards the sound nin. The next second the log was decimated. The sound nin laned. "Do you think that will be enough to stop us?" the lead sound ninja asked. He looked over to the female nin. "Kin, get her!"
In a flash, Sakura had her hair being tugged by Kin. She couldn't move. "Dosu, get the Uchiha!" "Right." The lead sound ninja walked over towards Sasuke. Suddenly he was kicked in the face. "Konoha Senpu!"
Dosu flew back a little. There was Rock Lee in front of him. "A three on one match is not fair. Right now your opponent is me!" "Lee!" Sakura yelled happily. "Fine!" Dosu yelled.
Rock Lee let loosed his bandages. "Get ready." Lee stated. Dosu flinched and in a second he felt a huge blow to his chest. Lee was crouched down and had kicked him upwards. Lee jumped up and wrapped his bandages around him. "Omote Renge!" Lee yelled. Lee started to spin wildly as well as Dosu as the deadly pile driver steered into the ground.
Lee landed away from the landing site fatigued. Dosu was in a soft pile of dirt. He got up and stood again. "What? How?!" Lee questioned. Dosu's teammate laughed and showed his hands. I can manipulate air currents with my hands using my chakra as a force. So I basically inflated the ground and it was soft as a pillow." Dosu charged Lee and attempted a punch. Lee dodge it and leaped back a few feet.
Lee suddenly grabbed his ear in pain. He fell over dizzy. Sakura could only watch as her fellow Konoha comrade began to be beaten by the sound's unknown jutsu. She felt the tugging at her hair grow worse. "My my. We sure have useless ninja here. You can't even help your friends!"
Sakura tensed. She was useless. She couldn't help her friends. Sakura looked at Sasuke, Naruto, and Lee. 'You've tried to protect me. I've been watching from the back.' Sakura's hand reached for her Kunai pouch. 'I won't let you down!'
Sakura's hair flew. Kin's grip loosed as she grabbed at flying hairs. Sakura flew towards Zaku. Zaku smirked and threw a kunai at her. There was an explosion of smoke. 'A kawarimi eh?'
Zaku noticed another Sakura dash for him. "Don't toy with me!" Zaku yelled as he threw another kunai. Sakura turned into a log upon impact. 'Where is she now?' Zaku looked around. He looked up and saw Sakura falling towards him. Within the second he threw a kunai at her chest and looked around. 'Where is she now?'
Zaku felt a drop of blood on his face. He looked up and his eyes widened. "She's real!" A kunai impaled his wrist and Sakura punched him to the ground. Sakura felt so desperate she bit his arm and clamped down hard on Zaku's arm, not caring about her own wounds. Zaku started screaming and repeatedly started punching her in the face.
Sakura wouldn't let go and took all the blows. She was heavily bruised and sore. After a while Zaku pushed her off and Sakura fell to the ground next to Naruto and Sasuke. She tried to crawl over to the, but she wouldn't move.
"You bitch! I was going to let you live, but now you're going to die!" Zaku screamed as he charged. Sakura's eyes were starting to tear and she glanced at Sasuke and Naruto.
'If I only I had more time to choose.' Sakura closed her eyes waiting for the deathblow. Zaku screamed as he ran. A huge quake echoed through the forest. The ground shook from the force and everyone stumbled for a second. The shaking occurred for a split second.
Sakura looked up and saw clad in black. Black, spiky, blowing in the wind with arms to the side with fists clenched. Zaku stopped and smirked. Sakura swore she would give they boy in front of her a hug everyday for the rest of her life when she saw him at this moment.
"Sakura-chan. You did well. You can rest now. Just leave the rest to me." He whispered.
A tear started to fall down Sakura's cheek. "Thank you…Dart-kun."
"Oy! How dare you hurt my friends! I'm gonna make you pay you bastards!" Dart yelled.
Chapter End
Cliffhanger! Heh heh. I hate these, but I felt like having one. This chapter took a lot out of me. Again I'm sorry if people were a little bored with this chapter because I took most of the scenes from the chuunin exam. I had to because that's how it happened and I didn't want to change it. I tried to add in my own original bits and pieces to it. Hopefully it was still good. Next chapter will be preliminaries which I'm kind of dreading and excited for. There's a certain fight I've been fantasizing for a while and I can finally put it in words. I'll try to have it by the end of the week. This was my longest chapter yet. I hope I can put this much effort into my later chapters.
